Re:Zero - Starting Life from an Alternate Reality
by Titan0fPower
Summary: MINOR SPOILERS: Don't read this if you don't want to be spoiled beyond the anime. (Based on the newest What-if chapter of Re:Zero). After the Sin Archbishop of Pride destroyed the Kingdom of Lugnica, Emilia was summoned to another more peaceful version of Lugnica. Why was she summoned there? And will she be able to track down and stop Pride?
1. Chapter 1: Pride

**Chapter I**

 **Pride**

Fire engulfed not just the capital of Lugnica, but the entire country. People screamed, drowned in despair as their howls were engulfed by the very flames caused by a lone black-haired man. There were no more candidates apart from Emilia.

Crusch was removed from existence by the White Whale.

Priscilla disappeared.

Felt was murdered.

Anastasia ran away because her precious knight was poisoned.

The entire country was up in flames, unsaveable by even the most prestige Sword Saint - Reinhard.

A lone silver-haired half-elf pushed against the relentless fire, trying in vain to freeze it with her ice. A familiar white cat moved out of her hair, worried about the nature of the flames. "Lia!" The androgynous spirit screamed, "That's a mabeast! Someone's riding it!"

"You're right!" And in that instant, a barrage of icicles attacked the mabeast, and the man riding it fell off spectacularly, dizzyingly getting up without a speck of style. He rubbed off the dust from his black sports jacket, his clothes were from an unfamiliar country. "Ow, wow," The stranger said, holding his head in pain.

"Stop right there, scoundrel!" Emilia demanded, her amethyst eyes glaring down on the enemy.

"...Emilia…" He muttered.

"You...know me?"

"Pfft….hahahaha…" He couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny?" She asked. Emilia felt a surge of anger at this man. He must've been part of the terrorist group responsible for the current destruction of the country.

"No no, it's just, I'm filled with joy knowing that you haven't changed a bit, Emilia. It feels like I've been rewarded, yeah."

Confusion. She felt confused. When had she ever met this crooked man? This crooked seventeen-year old boy? Emilia peeked at his expression. He looked satisfied, strangely enough.

"When have you and I-" She frantically searched through her memories, trying to recollect anything about this boy.

"Lia, don't take anything he says seriously," Puck's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She shook her head, and stared directly at her enemy.

"How daring of you to call me by my name. How are you going to pay for your crimes against the country?"

 _Who even says daring anymore?_

"Yes, it's as you say. I'll pay my dues. It's impossible to escape either way," He said, pointing upwards, accepting his fate. Emilia, surprised, lifted an eyebrow, in doubt.

"Oh, how sporting of you. How suspicious."

 _Who even says sporting anymore at this day and age?!_

"Listen, Emilia. What I'm about to say is just a madman's rambling. Please, don't remember it."

"...?"

He stretched his arms out, and pulled Emilia's gaze into the fire. "I'm the one who started the fire in the Capital. I'm the one who caused all this madness. The guards trying to put out the fire are simply mishandling the situation. They have no idea how science works, nope. Reinhard's name now as well is knee-deep in dirt. No one's going to respect him now. And the Dragon won't come to save this country either. I've tried, several times to bring him out into the open. Not happening. I got no idea how the covenant works, but if I don't know, no one else does."

"You were the one who set the country on fire? Why? Are you trying to destroy this country?"

"What? No. What a violent way of thinking, Emilia. You see, this was the only way to make you the Queen of Lugnica."

Her eyes opened wide. A wave of realization hit Emilia. "F-for me?"

"Yes, Emilia. All of this was for you! All of it! All of it! All of it!"

"You liar! You liar! You liar!" She pushed her hands to her ears, attempting to block out the stranger's words. Puck looked lost and baffled. "I don't understand! Why?! Why me?!"

Her tears flowed out, and a painful throb hit the stranger in the chest. _Oh...how beautiful,_ He thought. He truly loved this woman.

"You don't have to understand! You don't have to understand it at all! Just know that I did this for you! Someday, when this is all over, everyone will push you up of their own accord. You are the hero that finally put an end to over four hundred years of struggle! You! The one who will kill the mastermind behind the Great Fire will not be Reinhard! But you!"

"W-who are you?! Who in the world are you?!"

He smiled. This was his moment. This was the moment he's been waiting for all these years. No, it was probably only a span of six months. But to him, it was at least three decades.

The stranger stretched out his arms gallantly, pridefully. If he were to cry now, it'd ruin the precious moment with his beloved.

"My name is Natsuki Subaru."

"Su...baru…"

"Yes Emilia. Remember me, engrave me, despise me."

"W-what…" She broke down even further into tears.

Without faltering, he puffed up his chest, and screamed, "I am the final Sin Archbishop, representing PRIDE! NATSUKI SUBARU!"

With all of his meager strength, his legs pushed him to Emilia, running as fast as he could to cut the distance. "I am the one who set the country on fire! I'm the one who destroyed the Witch's cult! And I am the one who kills heroes-"

"You're the one to die," An angry floating rodent hovered over him. Subaru's feet dropped, unable to reach Emilia. He stumbled spectacularly, and just barely opening his eyes, he noticed an icicle spear tearing through his chest.

Subaru was dying. Blood spilled from his throat. He slowly closed his eyes, resignated to his fate.

Until something dropped on his cheek. He opened his eyes and saw Emilia's teary-face, bringing him up to her lap. She was crying for him. _Ahh….I really do love her._

"...Why?"

"Why? Why? Why?"

The question was vague, and could mean many things. Natsuki Subaru wanted to answer them all, but only had seconds left.

"...because I love you."

He closed his eyes and embraced death once more.

But Emilia was left behind. She was left behind in a rotting world, one where Natsuki Subaru destroyed everything. There was nothing left.

She gazed over this young man. Did she meet him somewhere? Why couldn't she remember him? The half-elf couldn't keep these thoughts out of her head.

Emilia felt confused. A surge of conflicting emotions wrecked havoc on her heart. Sadness, hatred, and pity. "Lia…" Puck whispered, "Let's go…"

"But..what about him?"

"Just leave him. A monster like him doesn't deserve even a proper funeral," His voice was tinged in anger, but softened as he saw Emilia's tears, "Let's go. It's not good to stay here. There are people out there that need your protection, Lia."

"Mmm," She said quietly, "Yes...you're right." Gently dropping the dead Archbishop down, she placed him against a broken-down wall, and prayed silently for a gentle afterlife. "Let's go, Puck." She sniffled, and rubbed the tears out of her eyes.

They turned their back on PRIDE, and started to leave.

Until they heard a shuffled noise.

"Lia! Behind you!"

"Eh?" Surprised, Emilia's eyes gawked at the now-standing Subaru surrounded by shadows. His movements were choppy, almost like a doll's. His arms dangled beneath him as he arched his back. His unfocused eyes moved rapidly. When his eyes finally moved to the duo, he chuckled.

"Disgusting…." Puck couldn't hide his disdain to the Archbishop's corpse.

"P-Puck? Wh-what's going on?!"

"Lia! Run! It's the Witch's Shado-"

In an instant, Subaru's corpse erupted, and within it, a hurricane of dark energy exploded, heading straight to Emilia and Puck.

It swallowed them whole, separating Emilia from Puck forcefully. The green jewel on her chest flowed out, and she screamed. "P-PUUUCCCKKK!"

"LIAAAAA!"

Her vision was blocked by a barrage of shadows. It felt cold and smothering.

 _ **Part II**_

The sun cleared. The birds chirped. A lone silver-haired half-elf blinked at the sudden brightness. Clear air filled her lungs, and she felt nearly free.

There was an influx of people and carriages around her, paying her no attention.

It was Lugnica, but not the one she knew. She remembered flames, she remembered the screams of despair.

But now, there was none of that. Every building around her was intact, and everyone was smiling. She clutched at her chest, but the spirit jewel was missing. Emilia suddenly felt a drowning loneliness without Puck.

But she had to find him. She had to get to the bottom of this.

After a while of searching, she figured out that she was in the Capital of Lugnica. She checked a newspaper, and found that the date was a year and a half from what she remembered.

Emilia checked the current events, and strangely enough there was no mention of the Great Fire in Lugnica. If she really did go to the future, why was there no Great Fire?

Frantically, she asked every passerby about the Great Fire, and they all shook their heads confused. Some were pissed, and some were scared of her half-elf heritage, but all of them shook no to her question, "Do you know about the Great Fire?"

They all looked at her strangely.

"Hey, aren't you that young lady who is in the Royal Selection?" She passed an Appa Man who spoke with a slight rough accent.

"Uh, yes?" Someone talked to her.

"Yeah, I met your knight a while ago. Man, it's been awhile since I've seen him. Never would've thought he'd become a knight. When I first saw him, he was flat broke. He couldn't even buy an appa!" He laughed wholeheartedly.

"My...knight?"

"Yeup. Didn't believe it at first, but I never would've thought he'd save the Capital from the Witch's Cult. Color me impressed, seriously."

"Y-yeah…" She had no idea how to react, as he kept talking.

"Tell him I said hi," Then he cleaned an appa and handed it to her, "And tell him to buy an appa from me. I can't keep giving out charity y'know."

"T-thanks…"

A little girl popped up from under his arm. It was his daughter. "Hi, onee-chan!" She squealed. Emilia smiled. "Hey hey, I want to see Subaru again, so tell him I said hi!"

 _Subaru?_

" _ **My name is Natsuki Subaru.**_

 _ **I am The Sin Archbishop, representing PRIDE. NATSUKI SUBARU!"**_

She gawked. Subaru. The terrorist who destroyed the country was still alive. But that raised several more questions than answers.

If he was still alive, why was the country still intact? Why did they mention that he was her knight? And why was everyone so fond of him?

She had to get to the bottom to this.

But first, she had to find Puck.

That was her priority.

She clenched her fist, and found a renewed motivation

 _ **Part III**_

In an abandoned alleyway, a crackling green jewel cut through the concrete, surrounded by electrifying power.

A tall platinum-haired human woman walked towards it, and smiled. Her dark blue eyes hovered over the crystal. Her slender fingers grasped it, shutting its power down.

"Hello there, Puck," She studied the jewel, and saw the monster contained within it, "You and I are going to have so much fun."

 _ **CHAPTER END**_

 _ **Author Notes:**_

 **Hey there! I based this off of the newest What-If chapter, on Natsuki Subaru being the Archbishop of Pride. Hope you guys enjoy it!**

 **I won't update this too frequently because I still have some Madoka fanfiction projects I'm working on.**


	2. Chapter 2: Cardinal

**Chapter II**

 **Cardinal**

The moist dull air clogged his nostrils. His angry hazel eyes desperately tried to see through the darkness. A sudden flash of light buzzed through his pupils, struggling against the sudden contrast of light.

A familiar box filled with moving images that shouldn't exist in this world plastered itself across the never-ending hallway, with several duplicates all broadcasting the same image. "H-how…" His stupor cut short as a very familiar figure crossed itself through the television screens.

"Maaaaan~ You have no idea how difficult it was summoning some TV screens from Japan. Especially when dear old silver-haired lady witch-sama has this weird vendetta against our home world. Or maybe she's just clingy, I don't know. I've only spoken to her once, and most of the time it was just incoherent blabber on her part."

"This...the butterfly effect was true?!….." A silent 'fuck!' escaped the victim's lips out of frustration. "FUCK!"

The one in the screen tilted his head, confused. No, more like he didn't understand the man's outburst.

"Well, my new authority has a hell of a lot more restrictions than wretched whore Pandora's. Unlike her, I have to follow a strict set of guidelines to make my reality. Since you and I share an ability, I can't afford to kill you randomly. No. That's not how it works."

The trapped young man gazed over his surroundings, and realized this place was designed after a game he had played a long time ago. An _**'Indiana Jones'**_ video-game on the original Xbox."Oh God…."

"Yep. It's a death course, you guessed it." He twirled his fingers, "This place is blocked from Satella's complete influence. If you die here, you die for _**good**_. But because of this stupid authority, in order for her influence to stay _**completely**_ blocked, I also have to play the obstacle course. I have to 'put myself' into the story. Tis the fate of the talentless." He shrugged, and smiled.

"Why in the Hell are you blabbering your weakness to me?" The sage asked.

"Because I won't lose to you," The archbishop answered. A wicked smile crossed his face, "Better not die too quickly."

[]

 _ **3 Months Before….**_

Sweat dripped from Subaru's forehead. His breathing grew ragged, but his body accustomed and continued. Garfiel smirked as he watched his captain jump through the obstacles with relative ease.

"Man, Cap'n, you've gotten bett'r. Back then, you were LIKE A BABY CHICK BURNING IN THE BLAZING HOT SUN." He chuckled, revealing his pointy teeth.

"How about putting it in a cuter way?! That just makes me feel bad for the poor chicken!"

"Tsk!"

"Don't act like Ram!" Subaru parried. In the corner of his eye, he saw a small blonde girl with ridiculous drills for hair. Her reddish dress carried itself proudly through the well-cut grass. A refreshing wind passed through them like water in a desert.

As he did a backflip, a blue-haired maid accompanied by a smaller, blonde maid scurried to his side. "Ah, Rem, Petra. Yo. What's up?"

The two maids smiled, and Rem spoke up, "Emilia-sama wants you to accompany her to the Capital. The preparations for the final Royal Selection are almost complete."

"It's almost over, huh? Can't believe we managed to get this far. It's like a breath of fresh air," His eyes moved toward the horizon, seeing something unseen. It was as if he was there, but wasn't there. As if any moment, Natsuki Subaru would disappear. Rem frowned slightly, worried. At times, she'd catch him gazing off to places unknown. His hometown? Maybe.

"Don't worry, Subaru!" Petra misunderstood his solemn look for nervousness, "Everything will be alright! You're the hero that destroyed the witch's cult!"

"Haha," He chuckled, "I couldn't have done it without you guys, though."

[]

"U-ughhh…" Incoherent gurgles escaped his throat. Choking on his own blood, the boy's damaged black jacket was stained in red-hot liquid, slowly growing colder as it dried and stuck to his skin. "W-where…."

He was fatally injured. Parts of his body were covered in lacerations and stab wounds. He had no idea how he was still alive. He pulled his face to the concrete, and pushed his hands against the slippery floor, covered in a pool of his own blood. He fell flat on his face, nearly drowning on his own blood.

"Ahhh…." An unfamiliar childish voice reached his ears, albeit just barely. "Whaaaaat a paaaaaaiiiiiin." The dying man just barely managed to open his eyes, and noticed a young boy covered in black robes staring down on him.

"Whaaat a paaain. Such Aceeddiiaaa, dying in my way. What happpeennnns if your gunky blood staaaaaiiiins my boots, huh? Hoooow would you recompensate if your scent stiiiiicks to my robes?"

"Hec…." He coughed, blood spilling out, "-ctor…."

[]

"What a hideous expression, I suppose," A small twin-tailed girl pouted, her butterfly-eyes furrowed in irritation, clearly contrasting against her adorable appearance. "Quit worrying so much over the little details, Subaru."

He chuckled nervously, "Ahhh….You noticed?" Subaru ruffled his own hair.

"Of course. You're Betty's partner, I suppose. There's nothing I can't see about you."

Faking a snarl, Subaru ruffled Beatrice's hair, annoying her as he nearly undid the twin drills she desperately shielded from him. He pushed her bangs down, blocking her eyesight.

A sullen expression gazed into empty space, drowned in resignation, unnoticed by the female spirit.

He ventured off towards the Grand Palace, carrying the blonde spirit on his back. With forced energy, Subaru charged to see Emilia.

[]

A large sigh escaped Garfiel's lips, as he ventured next to the blue-haired maid. "Man, what's up with Cap'n?" He placed his hand on his hips, clicking his tongue, visibly annoyed by Subaru's performance. His captain appeared desperate and overeager during training. Granted, the black-haired man improved his fighting and parkour abilities, but Subaru became more and more desperate the more he improved.

As if he was running out of time somehow.

"I don't know…" Rem responded, "But...the witch's scent is increasing at a rapid rate. It's alarming….But Beatrice-sama and I have made a promise not to tell Subaru-kun, however...I'm certain he's aware of it somehow."

"Shit…."

[]

Natsuki Subaru was revered as the man who destroyed the Witch's cult. His intellect and prowess greatly aided the country, defeating every single Archbishop, and undoing the damage they've caused.

He cured those transformed by Lust. He brought back those eaten by Gluttony. He saved a hundred wives from Greed's clutches. He destroyed the possessive spirit of Sloth. He severed the emotional link between Wrath and the innocent.

But his accomplishments hadn't ended there. He was also responsible for destroying the White Whale, sealing the Sizeable Hare, and killing the Great Snake. In three short years, he's done the impossible.

They revered him as the third generation Sage, respected and more accomplished than his predecessors.

But how would they feel if they learned that Natsuki Subaru, the third generation Sage, had directly borrowed power from Satella, the Jealous Witch herself? How would they feel if they knew she had a special place in his heart? A place he couldn't afford anyone to see?

Would they continue to revere him? Look up to him?

How would Emilia feel, knowing Subaru had been in direct cahoots with the one person who caused her so much suffering?

"Subaru!" A sweet bell-like voice called out to him. A pair of amethyst eyes focused on him, smiling. She pouted a little, "You were almost late. What if the final Royal Selection started without you?"

Behind her was a familiar green-haired merchant, who was well-known for his timid personality. "Seriously, Natsuki-san! It wouldn't have gone well if you arrived late! It's unprofessional!"

"Ahh haha, sorry, sorry. I'm here now. I was just training a litt-"

"He was daydreaming, I suppose." Beatrice interrupted him rudely.

"Oy! You aren't supposed to tell them that!"

[]

A silver-haired girl widened her eyes in shock. By wandering the capital streets of Lugnica, she saw a glimpse of her enemy, driven by an expensive carriage. Next to him was a little girl she recognized - Beatrice.

They hadn't noticed her, but she was frozen in shock.

Pride. Pride was here. Pride was alive and well, and close to one of her allies.

"Subaru….Pride…."

Clenching her fist, she moved forward.

 **CHAPTER END**

 _ **AUTHOR NOTES**_

 **This was more of an exposition chapter than anything else. Still trying to get the hang of this story. Sorry for the wait, but a lot of stuff came up. Moving apartments and college study can really stress me out.**

 **I also caught a bit of writer's block, honestly.**

 **Nevertheless, hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3: Sage

**Chapter III**

During the carriage drive on the way to the palace, Subaru shut his eyes tightly. Flickers of images drilled themselves directly into his brain.

" _ **A pretty face. Isn't that all love is? I don't see why you are mistreating me. I said I didn't want to fight, and here you are infringing upon my rights. Weren't you taught how to respect people's rights? And here you are, glaring at me with those eyes of yours. Is that any way for the man who killed me to carry himself? I am the most perfect existence in the entire world! So you must carry yourself like me! Do it! Don't let people infringe upon your rights!"**_

" _ **Love! LOve! LOVe! LOVE! The Witch's Love grows progressively stronger on your person! Chosen by lovely Satella! YES!"**_

" _ **Eat! Eat! Eat them all!"**_

" _ **Love belongs to me, and me alone."**_

" _ **Ahh….my lovely Betelguese! You returned to see me! I want you to use us. Use us, feel us, become us…"**_

"…shut the fuck up."

"Subaru?" The drilled loli looked over her contractor, who was in pain. He held his head, and forced himself to smile.

"Hm? What's up, Beako?" He continued to smile, but it didn't fool the spirit. She tugged on his sleeve. The sight of it made Subaru quake with guilt for trying to lie.

"Is it happening again?" She asked, straight to the point. Her butterfly-shaped pupils gazed over him, reading his expression. His smile twisted to an uncomfortable half-smirk dowsed in nervousness.

"Yeah…it did."

"Don't push yourself. Betty doesn't like seeing a constipated Subaru. It's a pain, I suppose," She held her head up high, haughty in such an adorable way. Her tsundere-way of speaking was so cute it made Subaru want to tug her hair drills.

And he did.

"Byoing!" He squealed, as he pulled the drills in the opposite direction. The spirit yelped in surprise, and frowned. Her tear-filled glare didn't make Subaru feel guilty in the slightest. "Enough of the worry-wart Beako. I like the happy-go-lucky Beako!"

"…I was a fool to worry," She said, sighing.

"Thank you."

The carriage finally stopped, and the driver peeked out from the front, and spoke to the two silhouettes, "Natsuki-sama, Beatrice-sama, we've arrived," He said, tipping his hat.

"Ah, thanks," Subaru said, waving his hand. He ruffled his knight uniform, clearly uncomfortable. "Let's get this show on the road.

[]

Emilia stood before him in a beautiful flower-based dress, with violet petals over the top outline of her chest. Her hair was neatly tied in a bun, and her smile was worth a million watts. "Hello, my knight, my sage, my Subaru." Her bell-like voice lured Subaru's heart to her like a drug.

He then turned to the green-robed man, and sighed with a large frown on his face. Subaru clicked his tongue. "Tsk."

"Why do you look at me with such disdain, Natsuki-san?!" He screamed like a straight man until he placed his hand over his head, "Ughh…Why do I even bother…"

"You better not have looked at Emilia-tan with those eyes of yours. I'm not so confident in my looks, so I'm sure any competition would be better than me. I'll poison your drink if you did! You hear me?!"

"The atrocious nonsense this knight speaks! Are you even a knight at all?!"

"Don't bully Otto-kun so much, Subaru," Emilia said, trying to pout, but instead giggled. She enjoyed watching Otto and Subaru bicker. It was like watching two younger brothers argue about the dumbest of things. _They really are good friends,_ She thought to herself.

As if picking up on Emilia's thoughts, Subaru's head perked up, "Uhh..Emilia-san, Emilia-san, did you just think up something rude?"

"Nooothing at all," She said, sticking her tongue out.

In the background, Beatrice sighed.

"This is the big day, huh, Emilia-tan. This is the day your dream comes true."

[]

A black-robed man, no older than fifteen, dragged a suspicious-looking witch cultist through the forest. In sight was a mansion, hidden by conveniently-placed barrier gems.

The witch cultist nearly bled to death from his wounds, but the robed man simply scoffed. "Sighhhh….fixing you up would be a paaaaaain. I'll just get Pandora to tidy you up…" How the cultists was still alive was nothing short of a miracle.

"Hec-…tor….." He could barely breathe.

"It's creeeepy how you know my naaame. It's really weirdiiing me out, y'know?" Hector voiced his complaints tiredly. His feet placed themselves in front of two massive twin wooden doors attached to a mansion. He dropped the cultist to the floor and pulled back his leg.

In an instant, the cultist felt himself flying. His body tore through the wooden doors, and he bounced off the concrete-like floor like a dropped ragdoll, his arms scraped and bled. "U…ugh…" He collapsed on his back, his eyes blind from blood-loss.

"Yo, old lady Pandoraaaaaaa!" Hector yelled, his voice echoed through the mansion.

"That's very rude," A beautiful platinum-haired lady gracefully appeared as she walked down the steps. Her near-see through white dress clad in a gold insignia flowed like royalty. In her hand, she held a green gem that constantly sparked out electricity like a malfunctioning battery. Her hand was plenty burned but her pain tolerance was beyond human levels. "I taught you better manners than that."

"Yeaaaah yeah. Fix this guy up. Apparently, he's one of uuuus," He said, then immediately dashing off to his own room, tired and exhausted.

Rolling her eyes, she looked over the dying young man. His black hair was clearly stained with his own blood. He smelled of something foul yet familiar. His dark-hazel eyes gazed at her, whispering, "…Pandora…"

"Hm? He knows my name. A gluttony victim…?" She looked over his face, closer than before. "No, this man is…Natsuki Subaru? Heh…" A cruel smile washed over his face, "But he's certainly not the one I know. And he's certainly not one of us either. No…someone else chose him."

"You old…hag," He coughed out rudely, with a raspy voice.

"How rude…" She said, sighing, "You and Hector are in need of some serious scolding." Pandora waved her hand over the Japanese boy, and his wounds disappeared without a trace. It wasn't healing magic, but something else…

Life flourished back into Natsuki Subaru. He could clearly see Pandora now. As he tried to push himself back up, however, a sudden force dented him downward. The archbishop could feel his spine snapping.

A malicious smile stretched Pandora's lips. "I am Pandora, the Witch of Vainglory." She raised her hand, and on cue, Subaru's feet floated upward. He was being bound by her. "What an interesting little specimen. You are an Archbishop I did not create…very interesting."

"It's nice to meet you, _**Pride**_."

The archbishop floated in thin air, struggling to maintain control over himself. Floating closer to Pandora against his own will, he saw her empty eyes, devoid of life. She noticed his gaze and placed her hand over his chin like she was studying a rare yet delicate specimen. "I see," She muttered as she watched his hazel eyes, "So you are like me." Then, a snarl crossed her beautiful face. Subaru's body was sent hurling across the room, flapping through the ground like a fish out of water. It was a pathetic sight.

"Only _I_ should have that kind of power."

Unbeknownst to them, in a faraway shrine, shadow-like tendrils started to ensnare the worm witchbeasts that crawled underneath the sand. The burning hot sun above was overshadowed by darkness itself.

"This isn't good…" A girl with a scorpion tail hairdo winced.

 **CHAPTER END**

 _ **AUTHOR NOTES**_

 **Sorry for the suppeeeer long wait. I just had a** _ **really**_ **busy and** _ **really**_ **stressful 2-3 months. I had a LOT happen. Hope it never happens again…Trying to start up a business (real estate), college life, and then some other crap. Life is hard.**

 **Anyways, here it is. I'm a bit rusty, and it's a little short. Still getting the hang of writing for** _ **Re:Zero**_ **, I normally write for** _ **Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_ **. And even then I'm still rusty.**


	4. Chapter 4: Sin

**Chapter IV**

His eyelids felt so heavy. Looking down at his feet, he found himself on white sheets sprawled on a relatively soft bed. He smelled something delectable, like well-cooked and well-seasoned meat. His nostrils enlarged hungrily. Drool slowly dropped from his lips.

"Good morning, Pride," A too-sweet voice rang in his ears. By the door was a platinum-haired woman whose beauty far surpassed any regular human being. But all he felt from her was disgust from the very bottom of his heart. "I made you some food. As you can tell, my cooking is perfect."

Without muttering a word, he grabbed the plate and noticed the steak plastered on it. It made his stomach grumble, but his eyes moved to the metallic fork neatly wrapped in a napkin. He unfolded it and twisted it to his direction.

He aimed right at his own neck, and without hesitation, stabbed himself.

Or at least, that was what was supposed to happen. Right before the metal picks sliced into his throat, the bones in his fingers started to twist and turn. Pained, he dropped the fork on his lap. "Geh!"

"Now now, don't go thinking anything stupid, Archbishop. You're bound to me," She smiled, her words laced with poison, "You can't do anything I don't want you to do."

Clenching his teeth, he snarled, "You bi-" His jaw slacked, a sharp pain entered his throat. "GAH!"

"Watch your tongue, Pride."

He glared at her, but his mind crossed through several different options in how to escape his chains and kill her. If he did it once, he can do it again.

The Archbishop of Pride swore to it.

"So, go ahead and eat. We have a lot to talk about," She said, her smile unmoving and unnerving. Sighing, he grabbed his fork and began eating. Against his will, his pupils grew with surprise. It was absolutely delicious.

For a moment, he stood completely still. He didn't even breathe. As if receiving a creepy revelation, he slowly looked upwards to his captor, and a small smile creeped up in his face. The witch hadn't noticed as she fixed her hair elegantly and pridefully, believing herself to be the most beautiful woman in all of creation.

"Tell me something, Pandora," He noticed her pupils focused on him, "About Emilia. What is she doing now?"

"About that, I was actually going to tell you. They are going to attend one final meeting before the public finally decides on a ruler. Emilia is there with the other you, along with all the other candidates," She smiled wryly.

 _Other candidates? What the hell is that other me doing?_ "Candidates? They are still alive?"

"Of course. The other you made sure of it."

"What a half-assed way of doing things," He said, clicking his tongue in disgust, "If this continues, Emilia won't become the ruler. That needs to change."

Smiling, Pandora nodded. "I agree."

The Archbishop remembered the first time he met with the beautiful half-elf known as Emilia. Her silver hair flowed seamlessly in the wind. Her scent was filled with roses and daisies. He remembered Emilia's sweet smile as she saved him from the three thugs that attacked him.

She had such tsundere logic, and her appearance was exactly to his liking.

And yet he was powerless to protect her. Even though he should be the protagonist, he was so weak, too weak to stand by her side.

Why was he chosen to be sent to this parallel world? Why was he given Return by Death?

Even though he was weak and useless, he decided to achieve Emilia's dream and give her the throne on a silver platter. He was so close too! He was so close to achieving that dream!

But that damn Reinhard! He always got in Pride's way. No matter what he did, no matter what plans his half-adequate brain came up with, no matter how many times he reset, the God known as Reinhard was an indestructible and unmovable obstacle.

Pride clenched his teeth in anger, his jaw screeching from the amount of pressure he put. He will find a way to kill the hero, this time, permanently.

No matter how many times it takes, no matter how many sins he has to shoulder, Pride will surely reach his destination.

After all, he's not afraid of death.

[]

Stifled, Subaru stretched the collar on his knightly suit, clearly uncomfortable. A pair of amethyst eyes looked at him almost motherly. With a sweet-yet-scolding tone of voice, Emilia whispered, "Don't do that, Subaru. It'll stretch your outfit."

Trying his hardest not to blush, the Japanese boy glanced away, before muttering, "Ah, sorry. I'm just not comfortable wearing these tight clothes. It feels like my neck's gonna go PLATOOWIH like last time, y'know?" Slightly frowning, Subaru clenched his chest, but he forced back a smile.

"C'mon Subaru, enough talking nonsense. The ball's almost ready. Beatrice is surrounded by girls her age, Otto-kun is doing some business stuff, and everyone here is having a good time."

"I don't really get it though," He said, gritting his teeth as he desperately tried to ignore the overly-tight collar, "Why not just get this whole vote thing over with? It'll be quick, easy, and painless. This is why I hate graduations. Always so scruffy."

"But you're enjoying yourself, aren't you?" She smiled.

"…Yeah, I am. Totally!"

Subaru remembered the time when they were stuck inside Echidna's barrier. It forced the young sage to confront his weaknesses and insecurities head-on. His past was something he easily overcame, but it was the future, its uncertainty, and his power that destroyed his heart.

In the back of his mind, he feared Return by Death's true mechanism. Does it really send him back in time, or does it send him to an alternate, slightly younger timeline? Either way, what happened to the Subaru of that timeline? Does he disappear? Do they switch places?

And yet he continued to move forward. Even with all his insecurities, he made it his mission to stand beside Emilia. He will make her happy.

 _Can I?_ A worm of doubt slithered into the back of his throat. He wasn't just a knight or the third-generation sage. No, he was also the one closest to the Witch of Envy. The sage still vividly remembered the shadows that nearly consumed him. He saw memories from dozens of victims consumed by Satella's shadow. The influx of memories flowing into him nearly tore him apart.

So he did what he had to do.

He committed suicide. Even though…

Subaru was and still is deathly afraid of death.

"Subaru…" Emilia's amethyst eyes hovered over him, "You really are worried about something," She said, kindly. "Can you tell me what it is?"

"…." He hesitated in front of her. She took his breath away, even now. "I…miss my family, Emilia. I really do."

Without saying anything, the half-elf's arms wrapped around the knight-sage. There were no words, only body language. Subaru was thankful for that.

Before cutting the hug, Subaru felt something drip from his left eye. Reaching his hand over his cheek, he felt some warm liquid. Looking at it carefully without catching Emilia's attention during the hug, he realized something.

His eye was bleeding. _What…the hell?_

" _ **Su-"**_

He heard a voice. Looking down, he saw the absence of legs. Looking forward, he saw the absence of arms. Opening his mouth, he heard the absence of voice.

And yet, he felt safe. He felt loved.

" _ **Subaru-kun…"**_

 **BOOOOOM.**

Tearing apart the hug, a massive explosion collapsed the ceiling, catching everyone by surprise. The falling cement was about to fall on Emilia, when Subaru dragged her by the arm and shielded her with his own body.

It felt like his back was being punched by the Hulk. "Gah!"

"Subaru!" Instantly, she created a barrier of ice above the ceiling, halting the falling ceiling. Immediately afterwards, Beatrice ran to Subaru, teary-eyed.

"Beako!" Quickly getting off of Emilia, Subaru started to run to the loli-spirit. Without turning back, he yelled, "Check on the others, Emilia-tan! I'll figure out what the hell's goi-"

He stopped moving. Blood dripped from his side, foot, and shoulder. Without understanding the situation, his body started to float.

Squinting, the Japanese boy realized there were three shadow spears piercing his body, and dragged him upwards against gravity. If this kept up, he'd soon bleed out to death without learning anything. In vain, he grabbed the spear on his side, and tried pulling it out with all the strength he could muster.

Hearing a charming voice, his dull pupils looked forward and noticed a platinum-haired young woman whose beauty was otherworldly. There was also a teenage boy, possibly slightly younger than Garfiel next to her. Seeing his raised arm aiming at Subaru, he deduced the boy was behind the spears and anti-gravity.

Catching a glimpse behind Pandora, he noticed a hooded man. It was clearly a witch cultist. He saw a smile. A smile he recognized. But who was it?

[]

 **Chapter End**

 _ **Author Notes**_

 **Anime Expo was…intense to say the least. Holy shit. It tired me out.**

 **Anyways, I'm back. Again. Still trying to get used to writing for the Re:Zero universe. Just finished Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rejection, so I got more time to write for this story.**

 **I need a bit more inspiration. There isn't enough fanfiction stories in Re:Zero, strangely enough, and none about Pride Subaru apart from my own.**

 **If I could read someone else's take on Pride Subaru, I might be able to full adjust to this story. Other writers inspire me.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed it.**


	5. Chapter 5: Sageless

**Chapter V**

"Gahhh!" He grasped at the spears desperately. The sage felt his body contort and twitch in pain as blood flowed seamlessly from his wounds. Slowly, his body floated towards the witch and her two companions. His bloodshot eyes glared at Pandora with pure hatred in his eyes.

 _ **Subaru-kun….**_

He heard her voice again. Her sweet bell-like voice covered in shadows paralyzed time itself. In front of him was a dark shadow covered in a beautiful black gown. The veil of shadows over her head slowly melted and revealed a silver-haired half-elf girl who was maddingly in love with him.

"S-Satella…"

 _ **Subaru-kun…**_

She sounded so sorry. Tears dripped from her eyes. "W-what the hell is going on, Satella?! Tell me!" Desperately, he tried to cling to her, but his hands were too short to reach her.

 _ **The seal…has started to break…I'm sorry.**_

Light entered the world again. Pain once again dug its putrid nails into his skin. "S-son of a bitch-"

"That's enough," A powerful voice filled with authority flowed into the battlefield. An angered red-haired knight stepped into the chaos, and took a sword from a fallen knight, leaving his own still in his holster. Without hesitation, he swung, throwing a blade of energy right to Pandora, tearing her body in half. Blood smeared on the floor.

Hector and the witch cult member just narrowly dodged. "Stand down, both of you. You will be charged for assault, murder, and attempted murder agai-" His eyes narrowed as he saw Pandora stretch her neck. There was no trace of blood anywhere. It was as if Reinhard never attacked at all.

"If it isn't the might hero, Reinhard Van Astrea!" The cloaked man let out a sardonic laugh. "I've been wanting to see you again, Sword Saint!" His words were like a madman's.

"Have I met you somewhere before?" Reinhard said, cautiously.

"Oh we have. Lots of times. You don't know the countless times I've tried to kill you. I first tried poison, but look at you, having a blessing against poison! Then I tried sniping you, but then you had some stupid blessing against arrows! I can't believe it'd work against a fucking bullet! I tried so much more, but EVERY! DAMN! TIME! You always survived!"

"Let go of Subaru-kun!" A Morningstar cut through the conversation, hurling straight to the witch and her crew. The young boy next to the cloaked man snapped his finger, and the Morningstar fell straight to the ground, breaking through the wooden floor.

"What a paaaaaaainnnnn," He said, cracking his neck.

"Let go of my friend!" A purple-haired knight drew his sword and called forth several minor spirits, but Pandora stepped forward and raised an all-too similar green gem. A single glimpse of it made Emilia's eyes widen. Forcefully manipulating the gem, Pandora released a torrent of ice, tearing through the floor and headed straight to Julius.

Without hesitation, Reinhard stepped in and took the blow directly.

There was not a single scratch on him.

"So we're not going to get anywhere by fighting right here and now, are we?" Pandora said nonchalantly as she pressed the gem to her cheek, like a prized possession.

"W-where did you get that?!" Emilia started to scream, "Where did you get Puck?!"

"She's forcing nii-chan to do her bidding…" A wide-eyed Beatrice watched helplessly as the situation unfolded.

"I said…LET GO OF SUBARU-KUN!"

"Let go of Natsuki-san!"

Both Rem and Otto screamed as Rem jumped forward, her fists aimed straight at Hector when Otto raised his hands and flung explosive gems to the witch.

"The young sage and I go way back, so we need some time to catch up. We'll be going now."

Pandora waved, and her crew along with the hostage disappeared.

[]

"Did any of you notice anything or anyone suspicious before the incident?" A figure of authority, similar to a police officer, questioned Emilia, Rem, Otto, and Beatrice. The loli spirit was crying her eyes out, while the blue-haired maid gritted her teeth in frustration and anger.

"I understand, that you, Rem-san, was not in the vicinity until the attack actually happened. Can you please explain where you were?"

"Yes," She bowed her head, her expression neutral with a slight tint of unforgivable fury, "When Subaru-kun left the Roswaal mansion to go with Emilia-sama, I followed him via his scent so that I can be at his side and protect him at any time. Roswaal-sama and Onee-sama both gave me their blessings, and I stayed behind him so I wouldn't inconvenience him in any way."

An awkward smile crossed the officer's face. She basically confessed to stalking the sage-knight.

"R-right. Was there anything suspicious about Natsuki-sama's behavior? Was he worried or troubled by something?"

"Now that you mention it, he has been a little depressed lately," Emilia's eyes drooped, "He told me he was homesick."

"It probably wasn't the whole truth," Otto interrupted, "He never once mentioned his home or his origins up until then. There's also the witch's last statement, with how she needed to 'catch up with him'. As much as I dislike doubting Natsuki-san, it's possible he was acquainted with very dangerous people. Remember how Scarf Echidna-san talked about how Natsuki-san's past was completely obscured? There might be something to it now more than ever."

"…" Beatrice shifted around nervously, as if she was hiding something. She clutched the edges of her dress, her adorable cheeks stiffened with frustration. Raising her hand, everyone turned to her. "I know of his origins, and I'm telling you now, my _contractor_ has nothing to do with that filth."

Clearing her throat, Beatrice spoke again. "He came from another world."

[]

He opened his eyes tiredly. His body felt numb and cold. Too cold. Subaru's arms felt like lead, too heavy to move. "D-damn…I'm in one hell of a pinch…" Trying to see the area around his dull, clouded eyes, he noticed a cloaked man next to him, with the platinum-haired witch behind him.

"I'm going to be rough with him, just don't let him die, will you?"

"Huhhh…" She sighed, "You should really watch your tone, but I know, I know. Stop looking at me like that," Pandora grew annoyed. She hovered her hand over the dying Subaru's wounds, and in an instant, the spears and wounds disappeared without a trace.

However, Subaru's strength hadn't come back. He still felt exhausted and pained.

"I didn't bring his strength back, you're free to do what you want with him until I come back," She said, leaving the room and locking the massive steel door behind her.

Hearing the sound of heavy metal clinking, the cloaked man smiled. Removing his cloak, a very familiar face glared at Subaru. "Hello, self."

The sage's eyes widened, before suddenly snarling, "You'll have to do better than that if you want to mess with my head, Lust."

"Hah?!" The ex-cloaked man was astonished by the stupid conclusion that he was Lust. "You idiot, I am not that whore. I killed that woman. Or well, we did. I'm sure you killed her in this alterna-" A sharp pain thrashed inside Pride. It was so intense he vomited blood out. "Gah…guess we can't even tell it…to each other…"

"Y-you…are me?" The sage recognized that expression. He recognized the fear and pain that came with it.

"Yep. It looks like our ability glitched out or something or other, and I was brought here. I took a look around and I gotta say, I do not like how you work," He slipped out a knife from his back pocket and smiled.

"Ah shi-"

A very distinguished sharp pain ran down his left shoulder blade. Pride twisted the knife, making it hit bone. "Ahhh!" The sage howled.

"If you let the competition live, how in the hell is Emilia going to win the Royal Selection, huh?! Don't you care about her dreams?! You are living life so leisurely. It's pissing me off." He kicked a downed Subaru straight in the stomach, "I really do NOT like that, you hear me?!"

"Man, you sure are twisted," Subaru smiled as something wormed out of his back. As this black slithery object crawled out of his back, Pride's eyes widened in shock. Without warning, Subaru unleashed Invisible Providence, aka Unseen Hands against Pride.

Taking it straight in the face, Pride was sent hurling through the air before majestically falling head-first on the rusty floor. "An unseen hand?! How the fuck did you get that?!" He frantically rushed up and dusted the dirt off his pants. "If I have access to that power I could do so mu-"

Smacked again, Pride's nose broke like a twisted twig. Holding onto his nose, he felt blood trickle down his hand. "Daammmiiiit!"

In pain, Subaru's head felt like it had a dozen claws piercing his skull from over-use of Invisible Providence. Pride screamed in anger, "I don't know how you managed to absorb Bete-san's Witch Genes, but I'm going to tear it out of you!"

As he drew closer, a figure stepped between them and flung its arm against Pride's chin, hurling him out of the room, breaking through the steel door. "Geeehhh!"

The figure was Hector, the Warlock of Acedia. "What a masssiiiiiveee paaaaiiiiin. This aain't a place to settle your gruuuuuudgeeeeees," Picking up the fallen Pride, Hector called Pandora over. "Ooooold laaaaady, get your shiiiiiit done."

"Manners, Hector," She flipped her hair and walked to the pained Sage. Drool and blood fell from his mouth. "Authority overuse? I've seen it with Betelguese-san. You're like his son."

"I…I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't call me that madman's son. We aren't related in any way."

"Good point, your eyes are far more sardonic. I don't like that," A force far surpassing Pandora's thin arms crushed Subaru's neck, lifting him upward. "You're going to relinquish your witch genes. I'm going to bring all the Archbishops back to life using you."

A surging pain spawned in his stomach, tearing him apart from the inside. Something was being forced upward out of his throat. An orb of shadows was vomited out of his mouth with a slight tint of green.

"W-what the hell did you just…"

"I removed the Gene of Greed from inside you, young sage. And with it, I'm going to revive Regulus-san. After that, I'm going to bring back Betelguese-san, and then the order goes down from there. All because you made it possible."

 **Chapter END**

 _ **Author Notes**_

 **I'm getting the hang of this!**

 **Anyways, I might've rushed it, but I'm not good at writing build up chapters. Never was. Hope you enjoyed it, cause Subaru's starting from scraaaaatch.**

 **Also, I don't know if Subaru would ever reveal that he's from another world, but I made some research and found that he might not exactly be banned from telling people he's an otherworlder, just that he can't tell anyone about RbD.**

 **I made fun of Rem, hahahah. Don't burn me alive. Satella best grill.**

 **Satella's my favorite character. Subaru is second. Rem is third. Not a lot of people like Subaru…But I do. He's so tenacious and is a workaholic. I like that.**

 **Anyways, enjoy the chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6: Sweet Lie

**Chapter VI**

[]

Pride and Hector dragged their feet to Pandora, who looked somewhat bored and melancholic. Twirling her hand through the floating Essence of Greed. It was a black blob of shadow with a disgustingly green aura at its core. "So we've ran into a problem."

"Can't you just tell uuuussss?" Hector said, dejected. With bags under his eyes from not sleeping since half an hour ago, he asked annoyed.

"Let me guess, you want us to go on an errand?" Pride tried his best to sound non-hostile, but there was a glitter of poison in his voice. Pandora took note, but ignored it.

Opening her mouth, her seductive voice reached their ears, "To revive Regulus-san, we need his remains. That should be fairly easy to accomplish. I can handle that myself, but…"

"Buuuuut what? Areeee you hesitating to speeaaaaak for the sake of the ploooooot?"

"To revive Betelguese-san, I need both a power source, aka the spirit Puck here," She spawned a small green crystal constantly emitting sparks, "And the material to make a spirit, aka a spirit of equal or greater quality of Betelguese-san's own soul." Putting away Puck's crystal, Pandora donned a fierce expression, "Find and capture Zarestia. Then I will be able to bring back Betelguese-san."

"Zaressstiaaaa? You mean the big-booooobed spirit?" Hector asked with a slight tinge of red in his face.

"….Yes." Pandora agreed awkwardly.

"And the others?" Pride asked, glossing over Hector's pervertedness.

"Let's start with the simplest. It's not good overstretching," She said as she stood up, cracking her hands. "Right now, we need firepower equal to the Sword Saint. Well, at the very least, to stall him for an indefinite period of time. And if we remove the contract the knight Julius has with his newfound spirits, we can have Betelguese-san possess him."

Pride cucked an eyebrow. Sensing this, Pandora reiterated, "We don't have to defeat the Sword Saint. We just have to incapacitate him somehow."

Glaring, Pride snarled at the witch, "I am not satisfied with beating him that way, _Pandora_. I want to kill him. I want to strike the sword down his throat, and watch him as he drowns on his own blood." Putting some distance between him and the witch, he moved his lips, "I'll help you resurrect the Archbishops only because you have a collar on me and on the premise that Reinhard dies. But the moment that changes, I'll be taking your head, Pandora."

"I'll be looking forward to it, _**Pride**_."

[]

As Pride left the hidden mansion and departed from the barrier hiding said mansion, he remembered what Pandora told him.

" _There is a way to defeat Reinhard. Granted, it's no easy feat, as it requires forceful implantation."_

" _Implantation?"_

" _If someone with a blessing absorbs an authority, they lose their blessings."_

" _That sounds extremely easy."_

" _It's anything but easy. Now, go to Kararagi. That is where Zarestia is located."_

"So this Zarestia spirit is somewhere in Kararagi. The least Pandora could do is tell us a more concrete location rather than just an entire country," Pride complained, "How does she even look like? I've never met her." _Surprisingly._

"She has big booooooo-"

"Apart from breasts, Hector-san. The only breasts I want to caress are Emilia's," He responded, grinning grossly, like a perverted old man. Drool fell out of his lips gracelessly.

Scratching his head, a confused Hector said, "Uh…..sheeee's…..thiiiiiiick?"

 _Goddammit._

Grabbing a black hoodie, he pulled it over his face. The hoodie itself was enchanted by powerful stealth magic, making him unrecognizable by the majority of people. It was colored black with stripes of dark orange, similar to Pride's jacket and pants.

Hector wore a similar hoodie, with weird cat ears attached to it. Unlike Pride's black-orange color scheme, it was black and purple. "Pandora gave me two tickets for a boat ride to Kararagi. We gotta head there in about two hours."

"Uuuugghhhh…what a paaaaainnnn. I haaaaate booaaaaaats."

"Stop being a little brat and let's just go."

Clicking his tongue, Hector kicked a pebble below his feet, and placed his hands in his pockets defiantly. "Is this what it's like to have a little brother?" Pride mumbled. "Well…the ages are switched though...A shouta grandfather who acts like a little brother? What kind of flag is that…."

"I feeeelt like you thought something stuuuuuupid. Stuuupid Pride."

"Yep. Definitely little brother material."

"I ain't your little brother, you shit-head."

Saying something so out of character, Pride was left speechless and agape as Hector's sharp tongue stabbed at his heart. "Gaahhhh!"

"Fuccckiiiiing pervert."

"Who's the pervert here?! You pubescent brat! Can't you see I'm trying to raise the loyal little brother flag?! These things come outta nowhere, y'know?!"

Arguing all the way to the boat, the two bickering villains finally sat in express seats. Pride was surprised Pandora gave him such luxurious seats. He expected to be sent in the smuggling trunk, or something similar.

Hector noticed his surprise, "Yeeeeeep. Wheeeen old hag lady Pandoraaaaaa wants to, she gooooess allllll ouuuuuuttt."

"I can tell. This is like a five-star cruise ship, I swear. Not used to this kind of thing," Pride tugged on his neck, uncomfortable, "I wonder what kinda food they sell here..."

"Whoooo givveeeees a daaaaaaamn about foooood. I juuuust waaant this triiiiip to be oveeeeer."

"Sigh…Why don't you have the heart of an adventurer? Is it because you're an NPC? Still. What a crappy way to create personality."

"Shhuuuuuuut uuuuup."

[]

"The chosen queen is…." Heavy sweat dropped down from every candidate. Subaru could feel the tension as the speaker took out a piece of paper, reading the voting results. What was only a few seconds felt like an eternity before the speaker called out the new queen's name.

 _ **Pluck Pluck Pluck. Plucked rotten beans.**_

"Emilia!"

Everyone in the Emilia faction screamed out their hearts. After years of bloodshed and war, they finally achieved Emilia's dream. She was no longer subjected to feared racism. Tears poured out of Emilia's soft amethyst eyes. She couldn't contain her overflowing happiness.

With a warm smile, Subaru wrapped his arms around the half-elf, patting her in the back. "You did well, Emilia. Now go up there and show 'em who's boss!" Letting go, he pulled a thumbs up, before being hugged forcefully by the girl of his dreams.

 _ **What a farce.**_

"Thank you, Subaru!" She cried out.

Garfiel laughed nervously, thinking that he just witnessed history in the making. Otto had dollar bills rolling in his eyes. Rem was smiling gleefully as she saw eye-candy, aka Subaru in a knight outfit.

Ram simply scoffed, saying something along the lines of, "I knew Emilia-sama was going to win," While hiding her joy.

 _ **Emotions dried out from within.**_

Roswaal scratched his cheek, having a genuine smile on him. Beatrice smiled at Emilia, and said, "Good job. We'll be relying on you, Queen."

"Thank you…Thank you so much. Now I can finally bring back my village…thank you so much…."

Emilia and her faction put an end to a long four-hundred-year war. They defeated the archbishops and even Satella, the Jealous Witch.

 _ **He's mine. You can't have him.**_

 _How could anyone vote for someone else?_ Subaru believed in those words from the bottom of his heart.

From the distance, Natsuki Kenichi and Natsuki Naoko whistled at their son. Embarrassed, Subaru hid his face behind Beatrice's drills, angering her and earning him a smack to the top of his head. His family was proud of him. So proud, they couldn't believe he became a knight.

He remembered when he first told them of his knightly status. Naoko nearly fainted on sight. Kenichi wouldn't believe it for a good six months.

 _ **I'm so happy he's here…with me.**_

Everybody was so happy.

It was a _**dream**_ come true.

"Wait…" Subaru had a creepy feeling in the back of his throat, "Parents? Since when…where they here?" He looked up at his mother and father from afar, their eyes so proud of their son. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

 _Even so…this isn't half bad. I hope these days will continue forever…_

 _Yes. Forever._

 _ **Yes Subaru-kun. Forever…**_

… _Someday._

 _ **No. Now.**_

Against the silver coffin, a warm smile crossed his lips as he laid there.

 _ **He's with me now.**_

 **CHAPTER END**

 _ **Author Notes**_

 **This took longer than supposed to, but at least the wait wasn't as long as before.**

 **I hope I'm right on Tia being Zarestia from the Rem What-if. Though I mean…it's kinda obvious.**

 **Also, I was supposed to publish this two days ago but FF wouldn't let me for some weird reason. Kept giving me some weird error, so I decided to wait it out.**

 **Sorry for the short chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7: Foolish Immortality

**Chapter 7**

 **Foolish Immortality**

"Can you tell me about this Zarestia person?" A pair of hazel irises widened ever so slightly as they hovered over Hector, the Warlock of Acedia. Looking bothered, the boy sighed and gaped at Pride's question, clearly annoyed.

"Whhhyyyyy do I haaaaave to botheeeer with such a stupid quesstiiiooooon?" Hector crossed his arms, then made a perverted circling motion, "Why caaaan't you just beee satissfiiiiied with the ideaaaaa of her bigg tiiitieeee-"

"Are you still talking about that? Sheesh. That's getting annoying. I don't know how old you really are, but you sure stay true to your appearance. Typical pubescent boy," He said, disapprovingly. "I want to know her story. Something I could work with apart from 'hurr durr big boobs'."

Drooping, Hector scratched his head, clearly exhausted. "She was once a very oooooold spirit, worshipped by manyyyyyyy. Zarestiiiiaaaa was capable of usssiiiiing all elementssss…And wipe out couunntriiiiies in an instant. It is rumored she is even oldeerrrr than Satellaaaaa herself."

"We're up against someone like that?!" Pride nearly shouted, but quickly covered his own mouth as the neighbors in the boat started to turn and look at him strangely. Whispering, he moved closer to Hector, "…why in the world do we have to go up against someone that strong?"

"Willlll you leeeeeet me fiiiiinish? She doesssnnn'tttt have that power anymoooooore. A while agooo, the very same worshipers tore her liiiiiiimbs apaaaaart, and thuuuuus her source of poooooower. Now she issss just a measly vengefuuuul spirit with a powwweeeeer she cannnooot tappppp into, with abnooormallyyy large, beautifuuuul, and bouuuuntifu-"

"Yeah I get it. Okay, so she's not that strong. At least, not as strong as before. But seriously…someone as old or possibly older than Satella, and she got backstabbed by her own worshipers. Serves her right, after all, her foolish immortality made her careless. That's the one true weakness of the strong."

The conversation ended, with neither of the two parties interested in continuing. They hated each other, even though they were agents of the Witch.

Throughout the entire boat ride, they kept silent. Not a single word was muttered. The calm sea waves rocked against the boat. Pride's black hoodie swayed against the wind.

The silence wasn't awkward. In fact, it was rather comforting. As dangerous as they were, even these two dangerous criminals had times of peace.

A massive cruise ship with 2 dangerous monsters and nothing happened throughout the entire trip. Ignorance is bliss.

As the cruise ship finally landed in Kararagi, Pride jumped off eagerly as he finally had a chance to stretch his legs. Hector quickly followed behind him, poking his back as he pointed at a hotel a block away. "That's ouuuuuuur laaaaaair."

"You've been reading too much manga."

"Mangaaa?"

"It's nothing."

Pride hunched over to grab the suitcases filled with what felt like rocks and dragged his feet heavily to the hotel titled _Immediate Stay Resort._ "Man…that does not look like a resort at all…" He commented, assessing the tattered state of the hotel.

"…The boat was a five-star cruise ship…the hell is wrong with the hotel…"

"Aaaaah….Pandoraaaa is horrriiiible at balancing the buuuudget," Hector said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well tell me these things sooner! Shit. Now we might have to sleep next to spiky spiders!"

Hector just sighed, surprised by Pride's outburst. He rushed to the hotel so he'd be spared from Pride's embarrassing outbursts like a little kid barely in puberty.

 _Who knows his real age though,_ Pride thought silently.

[]

"Sighh…." Pride breathed heavily, exhaustion draining his body all at once the moment he flapped on the rock-like bed. In the corner of his eye, he saw a roach jump from the side of his bed to a broken lamp on a dusty cabinet, violently. A look of disgust crossed his face. "Ugh…At least Bete-san's cave had maintenance…this place is just too…geh…"

"Whaaaat? Are yoouuuu eveeen a man?" Hector questioned Pride's gender, as he rolled over the lamp and squashed the cockroach with his bare hands. It was plain disgusting.

"You aren't very popular with the ladies are you?"

"Neeeither are you, you viiiiirgin."

" _Well sure, hit me where it hurts_."

Gathering his wits back after his own ego was shattered beyond repair, Pride shook his shoulders and slapped himself, "Okay. Let's do this. Let's do some investigation work."

"Aaaahhhh, befoooore you goooo, doooon't forgeeeeet this," Hector jumped up and handed him a strange vase, "Wheeeeen you fiiiiind her, trappp her in this vaaase. It should be eaaaaaasy."

Pride made a confused growl, "Huh?" He pointed at himself, "Me? Alone?" He asked stupidly. His partner just sighed and rolled back on his bed.

"Of cooourse. I ain't workiiiing. Too much hassleee."

Pride frowned.

[]

It's been weeks since Pride arrived to Kararagi. He was surprised by just how similar Kararagi's culture was to Japan. He probably wasn't the only other Japanese person in this alternate world. Well, apart from that other imposter. He donned an enchanted black hoodie to hide his identity. The Archbishop didn't know what kind of adversaries he'd face in this alternate world. _I wonder if Elsa's alive and well…_

Breathing the fresh air deep into his lungs, the Archbishop dragged his legs groggily through the clean streets, watching as the silence surrounded him.

The winter wind hit him harshly, but he quickly readjusted his hoodie. Pride didn't want to be stopped by the ton of people he 'befriended', so he donned an enchanted black hoodie that stopped anyone from recognizing him.

Cold air shivered through his bones as he looked up at the moonlight, smiling. If there's one thing he appreciated about this damned world was the ambience of the night. Unlike Japan, he could clearly see the stars. It was so beautiful.

Stretching his arms, a massive sigh escaped his lips, signaling his exhaustion. "All this investigation and I haven't been able to find this 'Zarestia' person, and all Hector tells me is that she's a woman with massive breasts…How much of a horny teenager can you be…" His shoulders drooped, depressed.

Something crackled. It was the sound of chains, dropping to the cement and suddenly raised up. It almost sounded like these chains were being used like a whip. "Where have I heard that sound before…" He muttered, before suddenly seeing a massive spiked ball hurl toward his physique. "Ah shit!" Narrowly dodging the bowling ball, the Archbishop dropped to the ground pathetically and without any sense of pride before pushing his short legs upward, trying to push distance between him and the attacker. "Dammit!" He cursed under his breath, "Not this shit again!"

He tried getting a good look at his attacker, but the dark night and the stupidly-fast moving ball of death made it hard for him to focus on his opponent. The sound of chains kept ringing in his ears.

 _Strange,_ He thought, _Where the hell is everyone else? Even if it's nighttime, there should still be some people here…Have I been caught in a barrier?_

He didn't want to die before getting a good look on his enemy's face, or at the very least if it was a man or a woman. This must've been a planned attack. Whoever his enemy is, they were ready to ambush him tonight.

 _Should I let myself get killed now?_ He shook his head vigorously, _No no no no no. I haven't even taken a good look at the bastard's face! Why me?! What the hell did I do?! This is a brand new world, I should have a clean sla-_

… _Was my cover blown? No, that shouldn't be possible…Could it be…Did they follow my witch's scent?! Fuck!_

He fiddled in his pocket impatiently, clumsily grabbing a golden metia shaped like a phone. Dialing strange numbers, he tried to contact Hector, but the signal was cut off by the barrier itself. "Kh-" He screeched.

The metia dropped to the cold cement, crushed by the spiked weapon. "He has nowhere else to go, I suppose." A child-like voice permeated through the thick haze of black. "Let's capture him and wring out any useful information he has." Stopping for a few seconds as if considering something, the voice continued, "Mind your killing intent. We can't afford to let him die. We need all the information we can get."

The attacker clicked its tongue. Pride couldn't hear well enough to determine its gender, only that the mage who set up the barrier must've been a child.

Or she must've at least been someone who helped plan the ambush.

They were planning to capture him. "Ah fuck this," He said as he pulled out a knife from his left pocket and stuffed it straight into his jugular.

The two attackers stared in shock as the Archbishop committed suicide. He had absolutely no hesitation in doing so, but he made sure to let his head fall on their direction, even if it's to get a tiny glimpse of his enemies.

He saw a girl no older than five with large blonde drills for hair who donned an incredibly well-designed reddish-pink dress, and another girl around his age with light blue hair and a strange horn sticking out of her forehead.

Blinking as blood drooled out of his throat, he muttered the words "I…will definitely…kill you…"

[]

 **CHAPTER END**

 _ **Author Notes**_

 **Sorry for the wait. Been hunting for a second job so I could finance my real estate job. It's not going so well…Tried another sales company, and they don't have any sort of time malleability. It's always from 7 am to 7 pm. That is too much, and I only get paid for each sale. No can do, I got college to attend to as well.**

 **Back to Federal Work Study Employment it seems. Sigh…**

 **Next chapter I'm going to make it light-hearted. Kinda. I want Pride to get to know the people around him. Had that thought when I was practically done with this chapter, and I kinda wanted to redo the chapter but I'm certain you guy want to read this.**

 **Besides…this series is all about time-looping.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8: Fate

**Chapter 8**

 **Fate**

His eyes drooled with exhaustion and confusion. Slowly, his consciousness arose from slumber, but as he opened his eyes, the Archbishop realized he was in a place unknown to him. The air stunk of some kind of fungus, drenched in some kind of reddish mist. He smelled blood.

As he tried to move, he felt the blood rush to his head. He felt himself being wrangled through the ginormous prison site, senses abruptly returning, hitting his psyche with full force. Finally on his two feet, the Archbishop squinted his eyes as the sheer brightness burned through his eye sockets.

" **He…he's here…"** A voice strangely familiar to him whispered. Its voice echoed through the strange prison halls. This place was unnerving, even for the demented Archbishop. His feet dragged themselves cautiously through the hallway, jumping back as grabby hands tried to latch onto him, desperately clinging for escape through the tiny prison bars.

"Follow me," Another voice slithered into his ears. The Archbishop finally realized a cloaked figure in front of him, strangely not out of place in a bright-yet-run-down prison.

One thing he realized was the strangely dim prison cells that held the prisoners. And…they all had the same voice. **"Please!"** They'd cry. **"Let me try, one more time! Just one more time!"**

" **Why him?! He doesn't care at all how he does things!"**

" **Switch places with me! I want to see her! I WANT TO SEE HER!"**

Sweat dripped from the Archbishop's forehead. He didn't like where this was going. Pride had a gut feeling that if he learned who were in those bars, he would lose his very sanity. Or what's left of it.

" **DAMN YOU! Doing whatever the hell you want! How fucking dare you! Do you know how much I had to suffer?! And yet you never ever EVER take responsibility for your actions!"**

" **You fucktard! You didn't even save Rem!"**

 _Who is Rem?_ The Archbishop thought. _Someone I need to know?_

"Look at him! He doesn't even look at us! He won't acknowledge that we exist!"

The cloaked figure pointed at its right, revealing another hallway, going through a maze of pathetic, hopeless hands desperate to grab the tiniest piece of hope. A horrid stench clogged his throat, making it hard to breath. He covered his nose and diligently followed the cloaked figure before him. Strangely enough, he swore he saw that cloak somewhere…its design was too similar to something he saw…Black with orange stripes.

But what?

Finally, the cloaked figure stopped in front of two massive steel doors, supported by a strange runic magic that seemed to hold the entire facility in place with its thundering power. "Go inside."

Turning back, Pride's dead eyes focused in on the figure, suspicious and glaring. With no other choice, he shrugged and sighed, arms out first as he pushed the doors open. "What…these doors were surprisingly li-" As he mentioned the strangely light steel doors, once he was fully in the unusual room, the doors shut behind him, leaving only the cloaked figure and whatever was inside this room with him. "What the hell!"

"Look over there…" The figure pointed with a ghastly tone.

The Archbishop turned back and noticed a massive cemented brick with a person fused to it. A ghastly expression from the figure infused in that block seemed to stare back at him. Trapped by a timeless prison, this person felt unbelievably familiar to the Archbishop of Pride. Something felt wrong. Something felt horribly wrong. "What…or who is tha-"

As he stepped closer, he realized he knew who it was. It made his blood boil…His hazel eyes grew in shock. Nerves twitched and spasmed with lightning. Cold sweat slithered and dropped from his spine and cheek. His pupils dilated uncontrollably. He started to hyperventilate from the sheer shock and realization.

"What is this shit?! What's the meaning of this, you basta-" A powerful hand grasped his neck, pulling him forward. The cloaked figure held onto him, paralyzing him in such a fearful way. Slowly turning his head, he realized the cloaked figure that dragged him into this wretched place shared the same face as the one stuck in the timeless block.

"You didn't really think there wasn't any consequence to Return by Death, did you? Of course there is!" The chokehold grew stronger, nearly breaking his neck. "There's always a price! You had immortality given to you? That isn't immortality. It's something far more devastating!"

"Get off me! You-"

The ground shook and the scenery suddenly warped in a veil of shadows. An eruption of pure darkness bombarded the strange realm, tearing through the fabric of reality itself. A gigantic hand of darkness formed from the pit of black, grabbing the Archbishop and pushed back the cloaked figure.

"You can't hide him from the Od Laguna for much longer, Witch! Soon, the Od Laguna will punish you and every single one of us for spitting blasphemy! Even you, Satella, can't keep it back forever. When that day comes-"

" _ **I DON'T CARE."**_

[]

"Hueh?!" Air hit his lungs like a full-speed truck. The sounds of trees and bushes rustling from the ocean wind tickled his senses. Blood rushed to his head, ringing like a church bell inside his ear. He felt like throwing up. His chest throbbed as if it was going to collapse in on itself.

 _Dammit…Just when I got over my seasickness too…_ "Gah…..huuuh….uhuufff…Why is this…return so damn painful?" Intense Vertigo rampaged his already fragile body. "I'm…finally back…what the hell was that…the after-life?"

"Whaaaaaaat are you talkiiing about? It'sssss so botheeeeersoooome, hearing you mumble straaaange thiiiings liiiike that," Hector clenched his teeth, annoyed at the Archbishop. "You looook queaasyyy, I ratheeer you not face thiiiis direction, or I'll cleave you in haaaaalf."

"The way you said that sounds scary! Don't say that! I won't look at your direction so stop! I already had my fair share of crazy experiences. I rather not experience another one so soon!"

Hector scoffed, his sickly eyes rolled as they turned away from Pride. Scratching his head, the Archbishop awkwardly shut his mouth. His thoughts wandered back to that strange place he could only describe as 'Purgatory.' A grim expression plastered itself on his face.

Dozens of thoughts plagued his mind about that Purgatory place. He clearly felt the Witch's influence grow stronger, and this last respawn was oddly painful. He never experienced anything other than slight dizziness and mental fatigue. However, this time around, he felt actual pain, as if his chest was about to burst.

But he pushed it all away to the very back of his mind. Right now, he needed to think about the maid and the magic caster. He was clearly tracked. Question is, how?

Did he leave a trace back in the Capital? How was he followed? By boat? No, he'd know if they were in the ship.

Could it be…a teleportation skill? No, that couldn't be.

Could it?

"Gahh…too many damn questions! I'm getting annoyed!" Pride rustled his own hair in agony, trying to gather what nonexistent brain cells he had.

"Weeeiiirdooo." The Warlock shrugged and turned the other cheek.

"Thinking here will get me nowhere…might as well just wait till I get to Kararagi…." Pride muttered under his breath. He was tired mentally. His hazel eyes wandered off into the incoming country, doused in worry and determination. "What am I going to do…"

[]

"I tracked down the Witch's scent, I suppose," A small child-like figure spoke with an air of self-importance. A blue-haired maid nodded exasperatedly, her eyes bright with determination.

Without missing a step, the maid spoke, "Thank you for forming a contract with me, Beatrice-sama. Without you, we probably wouldn't be able to find the culprits who kidnapped Subaru-kun."

"We need to hurry. My contract with Subaru has been voided by that disgusting Pandora. That allowed me to form a contract with you, but without Subaru and Betty's contract, I can't tell where he is."

"We are able to use your gate skill, Beatrice-sama. Let's focus on that to capture those filthy cultists." She held up a piece of cloth torn from Pride's hood. That's how they were tracking him.

Nodding, Beatrice and Rem reached an agreement. "Two of the three culprits are currently on route to Kararagi. We'll teleport in one of the hotels near the harbor of Kararagi's capital. Once we're there, I'll need to spend the whole day siphoning your mana. When I gather enough mana, we'll surround the cultists in a magic barrier, ensuring them no way out."

"Understood, Beatrice-sama." Rem's words were professional, but held a twinge of venom in them.

"However, the barrier traps us just as it traps them. Remember that. Once you're in, there's no way out."

"Understood. I won't fail, Beatrice-sama."

"We were saved by Subaru. It's time we returned the favor."

[]

 _ **AUTHOR NOTES**_

 **Dear lord I went through like 5 rewrites of the first scene, coming up with different scenarios on how to explain the same thing. First was Pride encountering a legion of Subarus fused together into some sort of Gravemind. Didn't like it. Then it was Satella explaining things to Pride. Didn't like it. You get the point.**

 **Well, school also got in the way. Japanese 2 is pretty difficult. Work too.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **PS: Who's Rem?**


	9. Chapter 9: Predecessor

**Chapter 9**

 **Predecessor**

Hazel eyes hovered over the silent Hector; the sleepy-eyed warlock looked back, confused. Scratching his chin, Hector's mouth moved gratingly, "Yoooooouuuu areeeee waaaaaay weeeeeiiirdeeer than the laaaaast Pride."

Hearing a strange piece of information, a bulb of curiosity popped in Pride's brain, "Previous Pride?" He couldn't help but ask as he was handling a strange miniature mountain of crimson sticks. To Hector, it looked like rubbish.

"Ahhhhhh, yeeeees. Baaaaack then, yooou haaaad a predecessorrr. Theeeee Archbiiiishoooop of Pride, Stride Vollachia. Verrry respectaaaaable and not weeeeird. Unlikkeeeee you. Heee'd alwaaaaays give me foooood. I liiiked him."

"A previous Pride, huh. That's new info," The twisted Natsuki scratched his ruffled hair, "I'm guessing he died? Considering I exist." _Wait, since I come from another world…would that be correct? Could it be that other Pride, Vollachia-san, still exists? Well, I never encountered him back in my…or well, my iteration of the other parallel world. Dear God now I am confu-_

Cutting into Subaru's confused, intermingled thoughts, Hector heaved heavily, "Heeee waaaas killllled bbyyyyyy thhaaaaaat idddiiiiioooot old geezer Wilhelm and a gaaaang of kniiiiights thirrrrty yeeeaaars ago. Theeeey raaaided his hideoutttt. Eevveeeen though he didn't do annyyyyything wroooong. Hiiiiis last momeeeents were….haaaaard to taaaake in."

"Huh…." Uninterested in Hector's emotional grief, the current Pride tried prickling the Warlock's brain, "Wait, but that means the old Pride's Witch Genes left his body, since he died. Do I…have them? Wait but that can't be right…I just came to this world about two years ago? Unless the witch gave-"

Pride bit his tongue, and Hector tilted his droopy-eyed head, confused as to Subaru's sudden silence. "Caaaaaat got yourrrr tongue?"

"Ah?" Heavily breathing, as though he had just ran an entire marathon in under a split-second, Pride struggled to form words, "Ah…..no, it's nothing. I just wanted to know, what happened to the old Pride's witch genes?"

"Coooooooonsiiiiideerrriiiiing you areeee the new Archbishooooop of Priiiiide, it'd be only naturaaaal to asssuuuuume you have the Priiiiide Geeene. But you dooon't. You have something eeellllsee.."

"Something else?"

"Byyyy theee waaay….whaaat in the wooooorld are you dooooing with those weird reeed sticks?" He pointed to the stash of odd-looking metal sticks next to Pride. Hector gazed at Pride and changed the subject.

"Oh? Ah," He held up one of the odd red sticks, "Are you talking about the dynamite?"

"Whaaaat's a dynamite?"

Subaru's face plastered a _Are you that fucking stupid?_ expression, with his jaw dropped on the floor. "Right…you idiots don't know anything about my hometown's technology. It took me a while to make. Probably a fifty years' worth of studying in a single week-"

"Fifttyyy?"

"Ah….gah…fuck….Basically…I studied really hard to make some explosives."

"Explossiiives?" Hector parroted, curiously.

"Yep. Basically, my authority told me there are two enemies after us," Suddenly jumping up, Subaru pushed his finger up to the sky, with a wide twisted smile, "We just gotta make a small disaster, and we can buy some time! I rather not give our identities away. They clearly have some kind of tracking on us, so if we put the lives of a good hundred people in jeopardy, those 'heroes' will clearly try to save them all, and in all the confusion, we make a run for it. It's a great plan if I say so myself."

"You sure talk a lot…for an idiot."

"Eh? Did your accent just change?"

"Yoooouuurrr imaggiiiinattiiiiioooon."

As Pride prepared a small bag, his tone of voice lowered to that of a whisper, "Think you could help me plant these in the next hotel over?"

"Tsk. Fiiiiine."

[]

 _So I don't have the Witch Genes of Pride…I could've sworn I did. I mean, I called myself Pride in my timeline. Could it just have been a misunderstanding? And also, predecessor? That means there were previous Archbishops? So there could've been a previous Gluttony? Lust? Sloth?_

 _Maybe I could sniff out some answers from the Witch? Geh, would she even tell me anything, rather than just fondle my heart all day like a pervert?_

It was evening; the sun nearly set for sleep. Hector checked their surroundings; he wanted to make sure there were no one nearby.

"All clear?" Pride asked.

The Warlock nodded.

Using a heat stone, Subaru ignited the dynamite. "Alright, let's get out of here, Hector."

"Goooot ittttt." Wrapping his arms around the Archbishop, Hector flung himself into the air. With his power, gravity unaffected them, and they continued to fly upwards at high speed for a good ten seconds before landing like a feather next to their own hotel.

"In a few moments, the next hotel over should blow-"

The hotel a few blocks over suddenly busted into flames; a cloud shredded the interior, shattering the glass windows and doors that made up its infrastructure.

An ear-shattering hum blasted Subaru's hearing; he felt blood trickle down the orifices of his ears. "Yeouch…." Everything numbed around the Archbishop as the explosion drowned everything. Dozens of knights circled past him to the collapsed building.

There were people screaming, crying, and bleeding, but it was all drowned out by the flames. "We should go," Pride tugged at Hector's arm, "Hopefully that'll buy us some time to run from our pursuers."

"Weeee couuuld just slaughter them."

"You idiot. I don't want to reveal my identity just yet," Pride snarled, "Didn't I say that a few hours ago?"

Hector clicked his tongue in response.

[]

The two Witch Agents made way to a carriage with a sleeping dragon in it. "Since we made a mess in the capital, I guess no driver's available?" Pride scratched his hair, "This is a problem. I don't even know if we can domesticate an animal like that."

"Iiiiiit already is domesticateeeed," Hector unnecessarily added. Not appreciating the Warlock's wisecrack joke, a bulge of nerves popped out of Pride. Immediately changing his stance, though, Pride walked over the sleeping ground dragon.

"I mean in terms of it listening to us," Pride softly placed his hand over the sleeping, silver ground dragon with a kind smile on his face. A sudden chill ran through his spine; his whole body flinched at the feeling.

"Soooomeone's heeeree…." Hector whispered cautiously, "Theeeey slipppped undeeer my radaaaar."

"Shit! So the pursuers weren't distracted by the explosion?!" Pride clicked his tongue.

Shrugging, Hector snarled, "Ittt waaas a stupppiiid plan in the fiiiirst place." Forming a rather goofy fighting stance, Hector locked eyes with the pursuer. Subaru placed his hand near the dagger on his back, anticipating the enemy.

"Scum…." It was a lovely female voice; one wrapped in pure beauty and malice. "Scum scum scum scum die die die die die die die die die die die die die die die you rotten scum for taking my gem!"

"Who the hell?" Pride couldn't help but spurt out, "Great, another crazy bitch…"

In front of them was a very lovely woman wrapped solemnly in a kimono. Her body figure and curves were hugged quite nicely by the white kimono, giving her a sense of otherworldly beauty. She could easily be a model in Subaru's world, but the radiating malice that oozed out of her face said otherwise. Her eyes, colored in a deep blue, pierced the night. That lustful milky-white hair danced in the black night that was colored by unhindered stars.

"You stole stole stole stole my precious gem! Give it back you filth! Filth! Filthy! Just the sight of you makes me ill!"

"Ah! It issss the big boobed spirit!"

"For Christ's sake, Hector! Now's not the fucking time!"

"Die die die die you filth!"

Pride heard a strange buzzing sound in his ears, and before he knew it, the ground dragon behind him was torn to smithereens by some unknown force. "What?!" She charged headfirst to Subaru, surrounded by the same invisible force that seemed to cut the wind itself.

A black boot kicked the spirit off to the side. "Yes! You got her! Nice going, Hector!" Pride danced with joy, before realizing that his companion was strangely quiet. "….Hector?" Focusing on the Warlock, the Archbishop soon realized Hector's predicament.

Hector's foot was sliced off cleanly. "….Iiiiit…..huuuuurts….."

"Fuck!" Pride snarled, "So this is Zarestia?"

"Yeees….The Great Spirit of Murderrrr…." Gasping for air, Hector gritted his teeth in pain. "Focuuuus, Pride. Sheee's cooommiing."

Calming himself, Pride turned his attention to the murderous spirit. "Damn spirit. You deserve what's coming to you!"

The wind crackled and ripped around Zarestia, her madness surrounded by powerful wind magic that would tear anyone to shreds. The spirit's maddening expression was filled with bloodlust and rage beyond human understanding. "I am going going going to bury you! Turn you into worm food for stealing my light sphere! I will kill you!"

"You?" The Archbishop of Pride taunted as he unsheathed his dagger, "Kill me? Hah! Just try it!"

Without sparing Pride another word, the enraged bull of a spirit charged headfirst to the Archbishop. Dozens of wind strikes engulfed the Witch Agent, threatening to swallow him whole. "Die! You thief!"

"I'm looking forward to it!" With a twisted smile, Pride ran to his demise.

 _ **END**_

 _ **Author Notes**_

 **Really sorry for the long hiatus. I got everyone's messages, don't worry. It just took me a while to get back into the groove. That and real life. It looks like Real Estate didn't work out for me at all, so I'm going to keep that as my fall-back plan in case my next major doesn't work out.**

 **Next chapter will be an extra chapter.**


	10. Chapter 9 EXTRA: Positions

Chapter 9.5

Positions

A young man garbed in torn tourniquet-like clothing coughed up blood onto the soil. His eyes couldn't focus, and all he could smell was the rotten soil beneath his feet. He lost his home, his family, and now, he was finally going to lose to starvation.

"Hello, Kurgan," A calm, collected voice rang in his ears, "I see you are having trouble standing," His voice was layered with genuine concerned, even though his words were full of vigor and confidence.

Kurgan's eight arms struggled against the ground. His voice wouldn't come out, and all he could muster was a faint "guhhh…."

"Don't worry, you'll be safe with me, Kurgan. I assure you this," The strange man dug his hands into a plain white sack, revealing a bright red appa, "Here, an appa. Fresh from the trees," Kneeling down, he gave Kurgan a chance at survival. "Make sure to eat it completely. Your body needs all the nutrients it can get."

Kurgan's weakly reached out to the appa, but the moment his hands touched the fruit, a sudden speed and strength overwhelmed him, and gobbled down the fruit without so much as a delay. Almost immediately, he regained his strength, and stood up with such force that the ground beneath him shook like an earthquake.

The man in front of him, though, appeared completely unfazed. "Nice to meet you, Kurgan."

"How do you know my name?"

With a sudden epiphany, the strangely-clothed man apologized nervously, "Oh, I….I'm so sorry, I didn't realize we hadn't met yet. I apologize sincerely. Sincerely so. I must've bothered you, but there's a reason why I'm here, so please, do listen, after all, you are in the position where you _**have**_ to listen to me."

Kurgan's eyes narrowed as the man in front of him started to babble unintelligently. _What the hell?_

"Oh!" With an expression that totally said, 'I see, I see', the man spoke, once again, with vigor, "I am the Sin Archbishop of Pride. I wanted to talk to you."

"An Archbishop?! You mea-"

"Nooooooo no no no no, I rather you not put me in the same spot as those other guys, y'know?" He started to laugh somewhat nervously, "They are very, very, very rude. I don't like those guys one bit. In fact, I came here with a proposal, Kurgan."

"Proposal?" He noticed the Archbishop started to fiddle with several rings on his fingers. There was one he took particular notice of: one with a reddish-blood tint.

"Yes. A proposal," Clapping his hands excitedly, The Archbishop smiled widely, "How would you like to become a hero?" With another clap of his hands, Kurgan flinched. It was as if thunder emanated from the Archbishop's hands themselves.

"A…hero?"

 _ **Years Later…**_

"Regulus Corneas…I hadn't expected you," Kurgan snarled at the Archbishop of Greed, who barely paid any attention to him. Kurgan flexed his last two remaining arms and unsheathed two swords in dual-wield style.

Regulus scoffed, and as if looking at a spider giving birth, gave a queasy look, "Ugh, how disgusting. A filthy creature like you who lost nearly all of his limbs, looking at me with such contempt and hatred. This makes me feel uncomfortable. Do you realize your position, you filth? How annoying. When people annoy you, that means they are infringing upon your own valuable rights. MY RIGHTS. You don't see me going over to you and start to breath down your neck, do you?! Ugh, geh, I need to take a long shower after this. That's how disgusted you made me feel. It's even worse knowing you are the personal lapdog to that moron, Pride."

"Don't you dare insult my master, you bastardized overgrown child," Readying his stance and with a clear shot at the white-robed cultist, he said his last words, "I won't let you go through."

"Consider that your death sentence."

 _ **Short Chapter END**_

 _ **Author Notes**_

 **Ah, I heard about the new Archbishop, so I just had to write him. Stride Vollachia…I hope we get an illustration of him someday. He sounds really cool.**

 **Anyways, so about the story: Would you guys rather I focus on one character at a time, or would you rather I do a 'chapter-by-chapter' format?**

 **Example:**

 **Week 1: Pride**

 **Week 2: Ayamatsu-Emilia**

 **Week 3: Pride**

 **Week 4: Ayamatsu-Emilia**

 **Basically, every other chapter we switch** **concurring arcs? Or would you rather I stick to Pride, finish his Zarestia arc, then move onto Ayamatsu-Emilia? Considering I've only been focusing on Pride so far.**

… **.I have no idea how to explain it in simpler terms.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 10: Threatened Heart

Chapter 10

Threatened Heart

Her heart, made from flesh and blood, was threatened to collapse under its own weight. She clenched against her chest, squeezed past her breasts and into her ribs. Each and every one of her nerves shivered and sobbed with fear.

Ever since her meeting with the self-proclaimed Archbishop of Pride, Natsuki Subaru, her once-confident heart now crumbled under doubt, suspicion, and cowardice.

Especially without Puck by her side.

In what appeared to be an alternate world, Emilia found Beatrice and Rem speaking leisurely alongside her most terrifying enemy.

They looked so happy.

 _What's going on?_ She thought to herself, _Am I…in a different world?_ That was the only explanation.

When she felt the attack at the capital, she dashed to the rescue, and found something horrifying.

She saw Pandora, Hector, a Witch Cultist, and Subaru fighting in the Capital. Then she saw someone who looked exactly like her, Rem, and Beatrice fighting against the witches, trying to save Subaru.

Emilia couldn't move a muscle; she was too afraid to jump in to help. Since when had she turned out to be so cowardly?!

"In this…world…Is Subaru a good boy?" She muttered under her breath. No, even if it was true, she just couldn't accept it at an emotional level.

Her feet suddenly dragged off, running away from the nightmarish battle that took place. The moment she met Pride, her eyes drifted into his pupils and trembled upon a deep dark never-ending madness, and glanced into that abyss; ever since then, her heart trembled. She never wanted to see that kind of evil again; she wanted to avert her eyes from it.

In short: she ran away.

After that spectacle of a battle, Emilia spent the remaining of the day searching for her spirit stone. Could she have left it back in her own world?

She had no money, no food, and no water. Her feet slowly dragged on as the sun settled down. Her dress wasn't warm enough to shield her from the fierce cold.

Tears were forming in her eyes, until a strange voice called out to her, "Emilia-sama!" The male's voice grabbed her hand, and in shock she turned to see the culprit. "Emilia-sama! I thought you went back to the mansion. Thank Goodness I stayed behind to gather the paperwork. What were you thinking?!"

The strange man wore a green merchant-esque suit with a slightly long green top hat. His silver hair was beautiful and short; it wouldn't be a stretch to say he'd be able to pass as a woman with his moderately light voice.

"….Who're you?" She asked dumbly.

"Did you forget the face of one of your allies?! Jeez, don't let Natsuki-san influence you! I'm begging you, Emilia-sama!"

"Wai-but-"

"No buts! We need to head back to the mansion immediately! After Natsuki-san's capture, who knows what vile things they are doing to him! I can't even imagine!"

Dragged by Otto's flow-of-conversation, Emilia was brought to a carriage, and without being able grasp the situation, was brought to a day-long journey back to the Mather's Mansion.

"We'll get through this, Emilia-sama! I promise you!" He started to ramble as he clenched his fists in determination, "And so will Natsuki-san! Your knight won't die so frivolously to a pack of criminals!"

"My…knight?" She caught on to that word. Knight. Seeing her confused expression, Otto gazed at her, worriedly. _Maybe I can figure out the situation by going with him…I hope I'm not getting into any trouble…but I really need to figure out what's going on._

"I know you had a long day, Emilia-sama, so please, rest."

The moment he had said, she became self-aware of the exhaustion plaguing her body and mind. Almost immediately, her eyes started to flutter and close. "Ah…." She muttered, "Mm.." were her last words before the half-elf drifted off to sleep.

" _Look around you, Emilia! See all that I've done! It's all for you! Do you like it?! You must love it! Yes yes yes that's how you are, always accepting everything around you! This is my token of gratitude, for saving me!"_

" _W-what? Who're you?!"_

" _It's only obvious you wouldn't remember! But know this: I love you more than anyone in the world. I would die for you, I have died for you! Oh yes, Emilia. I love you. You wanted the crown, so here it is!"_

" _No…I don't want a throne with bodies scattered underneath it!"_

" _Oh but it was the only way! As a half-elf you held a major disadvantage. The only way to win is to destroy the enemy!"_

" _You never believed in me! You don't even love me! All your words are fake!"_

" _Fake? Oh no. Soon, you'll understand."_

 _Flames and fire devoured the entirety of the Kingdom of Lugnica. The hero known as Reinhard was now nothing more than a withered husk, hellbent on revenge._

 _The one responsible for it all, a powerless young boy with daggered black hair with no redeeming features, stood there, laughing at the absurdity of it all._

Gasping for air, Emilia woke up in a cold sweat. She peeked out of the carriage and noticed that it was dusk time. She could see the Mather's Mansion far off in the distance.

"We're almost there, Emilia-sama," Otto said. He hadn't heard Emilia's night terrors. The merchant was blissfully unaware of what he was getting himself into.

The ground dragon snorted as it skipped across the soil, dodging the trees swiftly and elegantly. Emilia gazed at Otto, wondering if she's ever met him in her world.

Probably not.

In this world, it seemed like the other Emilia had so many friends. She seemed far more well-off than the Emilia in the carriage. Right now, this Emilia was hopelessly lost.

The forest that was burned along with the Mather's faction was all burned to the ground in her world, but here, everything flourished. She saw so many children running around gleefully and happy.

The village she once thought forever destroyed was now the very definition of prosperity. She felt her eyes sting; tears were running down her eyes like a waterfall. Otto, noticing this, started to panic as he tried to console her. "Don't worry! Natsuki-san will come back! I'm sure of it!"

"The-the village…is still here!"

"Huh? What about Natsuki-san?" He muttered, confused.

With no intention of answering, Emilia looked at the mansion already close in sight. It was still standing, almost brand new from the last time she remembered it.

Back in her world, it went up in flames as Roswaal went insane; Emilia never learned the reason why.

The carriage stopped in front of the mansion, and two maids came out. "Emilia-sama?" The blue-haired maid whispered, confused. "No, that's not possible."

"Is there something wrong, Rem-san?" Otto tilted his head, confused.

With forcefulness, the red-haired maid pulled a silver-haired girl from inside the mansion outside. "Here is Emilia-sama. Whoever is right next to you…is a fake."

"A…what?"

The Emilia next to the maids, and the Emilia next to Otto gasped at the sight of each other. Confusion. Suspicion. Caution.

So many negative emotions ran through them, when the Emilia by the mansion asked the Emilia of the carriage something petrifying.

"Are you….Satella?"

 **Chapter End**

 _ **Author Notes**_

 **Sorry for the short chapter. Just realized it's going to be kinda hard figuring out the timeline of Emilia's side of the story, considering we have a character(s) that can reverse time…so…yeah…**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading.**


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